Mission
by Ace Warbringer
Summary: A short story by Ace Warbringer, done in "The Thing" Universe.


**AN: something I wrote a while ago. polished it just a bit and posted.** **R&R please.**

Mission

By Ace Warbringer

The deck was loud when I hit it. The sudden noise made me wince, as up to now the (Infiltration? Mission?) had been quite quiet. Crap. A quick move to the wall, no sounds. Probably doesn't mean anything in this situation, they're hellishly fast even without giving them the wide open corridors of a frapping cruise ship.

A few stressful minutes of silence and I think I can move on. One, two-in, out. Breathe. Okay time to move. Slow one foot carefully in front of the other. The evac did not go well, from the signs of it. Clothes slung about like a 13 year old's room. Blood slung about like a battlefield. If anything it muffled my footsteps, but that works both ways, they could be on me before I knew it.

Slow, careful I'm almost to the first objective. And I freeze, what was that? Sound, not mine. A slow sweep around left, nothing, up nothing . Up against the wall now, my heart is pounding a klick a second. Where? I hear it again ahead, Oh screw they're ahead. Guns up, sighted down the empty dark. The night vision only good for 20 or so meters, Frap. I know they could cover that distance in milliseconds, probably less.

I'm frozen against the wall now, no movement, if they hear me I'm dead. Slow, breathe, in-out. The noise again. Not moving. They might not hear me. Damn lucky if they don't. but how? They had to have heard the noise of me hitting the deck a half click back. They should be investigating the noise, why not? Maybe its not them? Ship should have been evac'ed, and if they're not out they're dead, so what's making that noise?

I think its moving towards me, frap. Well lets hope the eggheads designed the gun right, cause I might have to use it. No movement from me, barely breathing now, slow in-out, cant let them hear me.

Holy… it's a kid, female, slowly walking, very scared, but quiet, good. I move up behind her, first move, clamp a hand over her mouth, second wrap a arm around her and lift her into the air trying to keep it quiet. Still no sound from her, but now I have to deal with 90 lbs of wriggling hellcat. Shit. I sound off and tell her I'm human, tell her to be quiet. She immediately touches my face and stops moving. No more sound from her except her rushed breathing , and mine, I listen again as I pull up against the wall. Put her behind me, hand on my back. I can't do it, shouldn't have exposed myself like that. Frap, what was I thinking? Why?

Why? Good question, you don't ask you just do. What the hell man, did you even stop too think? No, and you don't know why, saw it happen to the others, couldn't stop thinking, couldn't stop asking. And they're all dead. Never asked questions before, never let anything get in the way before, what in the hells were you thinking?

Forward, to the objective, that's it. But now you can't, can you? Moron. Now you have to deal with a kid that is an unknown. No noise ahead cant hear a damn thing above my breathing. Cant be good, they have to know something by now, my odor and her's wafting through the ventilators for the past, time check. that short? Huh, might have a chance, I move forward kid on my heels, hand tucked in my belt, she's good. moves when I move, stops when I stop. Crap, more noise, she hears it. This time its distinct. They're close. Frap. I can feel the kid, she's frozen solid like me.

I can see them. Too close. The gun whispers, one second, two. Worked perfectly, eggheads got it right for once. A sigh, the corpse slumps down, no more noise. Can't go that way though, back to the last intersection. Left around, up against the hull now. I can feel something in the deck. Vibration. I touch the wall, not good, ships moving. Fuck they wouldn't have put me on it if it was moving. The math wouldn't have worked. I know that much. Besides scan's….

I stop, I have to change objective's slightly, cant be helped, I know they know I'm here. Corp's not going to like it, no matter. They may own me but they don't control me. Corp never did like that, but the others they controlled always failed. Corp never liked that either, which is why I always get missions like this. Where you have to think. Going to kill me soon enough, I'm too old.

Kids right behind me, light ahead. Can't see it without night vision on, so its very faint. Time check, good still got some time left. Forward, silence, might have got the patroller in this section, they tend to do that. Once they have control.

Finally, the bridge, I immediately find the pressure door activation and hit it. The kid watches me work. She's sitting in what used to be the captains' chair. There I'm done, I may not be able to pull off my original objective but this will do. Third objective was always a gamble anyway.

I see the batteries targeting us, good.

I send the signal and she erupts into one of them, time to retire.

Mission complete. Objective 2 complete….

_End of neural mission recording, status; destruction of agent, no chance of recovery._

_End of report._


End file.
